Born in the slums of London, his mother was a prostitute, he grew up in an orphanage and he thieved and generally led a life of crime before entering the army at 15 yrs old. He joined the 33rd Foot which later became the Duke of Wellington's regiment and fought through a few skirmishes until he ended up in India where after saving General Wellesley's life at the battle of Assaye, he was promoted from the ranks to an Ensign.

From Ensign with the 74th Highlanders he fought his way through India and the battle for Gawilghur fort before being transferred to the 95th Rifle Brigade and becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in 1805.

From that day Sharpe rose through the ranks ending up as a Major generally with the Light Company of the South Essex (a fictitious regiment) although Wellington was not averse to using Sharpe's soldiering talents when it suited him for other less desirable tasks!

After Waterloo in 1815, Sharpe retired with his mistress, Lucille, back to their chateau in Normandy until he was asked by an old friend, to go to Chile for a final military adventure………and incidentally where he meets Napoleon for the very first time

http://southessex.tribe.net